Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40961482›Full record

ArticleJMIR research protocols2025

Effectiveness and Safety of Tuina Therapy Combined With Yijinjing Exercise for Neck Pain: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Shichang Yang, Yuanming Zhong, Qipeng Yuan, Jinxu Wang, Guancheng Wang, Yan Long, Haoran Sun, Jie Si, Jinyu Li

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR research protocols, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Clinical and Electromyographic Effect of Tui-Na Massage Versus Positional Release on Postpartum Neck Dysfunction: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026
    Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Shichang YangThe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China.ORCID 0009-0006-5731-191X
Yuanming ZhongThe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China.ORCID 0009-0009-4283-0807
Qipeng YuanThe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China.ORCID 0009-0007-8216-9473
Jinxu WangThe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China.ORCID 0009-0009-7051-8351
Guancheng WangThe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China.ORCID 0009-0003-0078-0377
Yan LongThe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China.ORCID 0009-0006-6202-5109
Haoran SunThe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China.ORCID 0009-0005-2764-7140
Jie SiThe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China.ORCID 0009-0006-4053-4316
Jinyu LiThe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China.ORCID 0009-0001-9380-5259

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNeck pain with high incidence and recurrence rates significantly impairs patients' quality of life and imposes a considerable economic burden. Traditional Chinese medicine therapies such as Yijinjing exercise and Tuina have shown promising efficacy in alleviating the local symptoms of neck pain. However, there is currently insufficient high-level evidence to robustly support these findings.

objectiveThis study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combining Yijinjing exercise with Tuina for the treatment of neck pain.

methodsPubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Database, VIP Chinese Science and Technology Periodicals Full-Text database, and Wanfang database will be systematically searched for all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from their inception to September 2025, without language or publication status restrictions. The Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 assessment tool will be used to evaluate the risk of bias in the included studies, and the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) system will be employed to grade the quality of evidence. Heterogeneity will be evaluated through I

resultsAs of June 2025, we have completed the preliminary screening of titles and abstracts for 573 studies. The full-text screening is expected to be completed by September 2025, and data analysis is planned to be completed by December 2025. About two-thirds of the studies were published after 2015. Geographically, the samples in the studies were highly concentrated in Asia. The results were comprehensively developed around the core outcomes. The primary outcome was presented by changes in the visual analog scale. The secondary outcomes were evaluated by the neck disability index, self-rating anxiety scale score, mean vertebral artery blood flow velocity, and Cobb angle.

conclusionsIf the results of this study confirm the effectiveness of massage combined with Yijinjing, it can provide a direction for the nonpharmaceutical treatment of neck pain. However, some studies have risks of bias such as insufficient standardization of massage operations and difficulty in implementing blinding methods. The expected heterogeneity is significant due to differences in intervention plans and patients' cultural backgrounds, and the original RCTs are few and regionally concentrated, with limited extrapolation of conclusions. In the future, it is necessary to optimize the plan and supplement data through high-quality multicenter research to enhance reliability.

trial registrationPROSPERO CRD420251026508; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251026508. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/77864.

Indexed as

Exercise TherapyMedicine, Chinese TraditionalNeck PainHumansMeta-Analysis as TopicQuality of LifeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicResearch DesignSystematic Reviews as TopicTreatment Outcomecervical spondylosismassagemeta-analysissystematic reviewtraditional Chinese exercise

Identifiers

PMID40961482
PMCPMC12489407

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.